Five-year Renewal Shows Confidence in Residential PACE Program, Benefit for Homeowners
PLACER COUNTY, Calif., Dec. 18, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — Homeowners in the unincorporated areas of Placer County can continue to access Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) home improvement financing through Home Run Financing (HRF), in accordance with a unanimous vote this week by the Placer County Board of Supervisors. The Board, which originally approved the program in 2020, voted to extend approval for another five years, showing confidence in the program and an appreciation for its benefits for Placer County homeowners. Since the County’s initial approval its largest City, Roseville, has also approved PACE financing for its residents.
PACE financing can be used to fund renewable energy, and energy and water efficiency upgrades, as well as earthquake resiliency. Placer County is one of more than 340 cities and counties in California where PACE Funding is available to homeowners.
“PACE Funding can help County residents prepare for wildfire and earthquakes, and leverage technologies like solar energy and energy-efficient HVAC, and more,” said County Board Chair Jim Holmes. “This program has been tested in Placer County and is clearly working for homeowners.”
PACE Financing is available only through registered and trained contractors. State legislation and regulation by the state Department of Financing Protection and Innovation (DFPI) provides robust consumer protections for homeowners.
Drought remains a perennial problem in California and more and more homeowners are looking for additional ways to fund home upgrades to save water. California homeowners are also looking for ways to reduce utility bills in the face of rising energy costs, both by installing renewable energy systems like solar panels, and by installing more efficient (less leaky) windows and doors and roofs. PACE Financing is specifically designed to be used for such water and energy saving projects.
The PACE financing model provides the strongest consumer protections of any home improvement financing product, with homeowner identity verification measures; recorded confirmation of terms calls conducted in English or Spanish to ensure the homeowner understands the financing; a further recorded call in English or Spanish to verify the project is complete before the contractor gets paid; third-party inspection of completed projects; rigorous contractor oversight and training; and additional protections for the elderly and low-income homeowners, among several other stringent consumer protection measures.
In the six years Home Run Financing (previously PACE Funding Group) has been operating in California, the company has provided almost $517 million in PACE financing for 16,000 home improvement projects across the state. These projects have set in place greenhouse gas reductions, over the lifetime of the upgrades, of 144,179 metric tons, equivalent to taking more than 32,000 cars off the road for a year or powering more than 18,000 homes for a year. The water efficiency upgrades have set in place the conservation of 163 million gallons of water, equivalent to filling 8,000 backyard pools or taking 8 million five-minute showers. HRF-financed projects have created more than 4,600 good-paying jobs across the state.
Learn more at www.homerunfinancing.com.
CONTACT
Severn Williams, 510-336-9566
swilliams@tanagercommunications.com